Joseph Haydn – Famous Works

Haydn string quartets Erdody edition title page

Edition of Haydn’s string quartets dedicated to Count Erdődy, reflecting his pivotal role in shaping the genre.

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) was one of the foundational figures of the Classical era and is often regarded as the “father” of the symphony and the string quartet. His music is characterized by formal clarity, balance, and inventive development, playing a decisive role in shaping the principal genres of his time.

His output includes symphonies, concertos, chamber music, keyboard works, sacred compositions, and operas, with a particular emphasis on symphonic and chamber forms. The following is a representative selection of his most significant works.

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Symphonies

Symphony No. 6 in D major, “Le matin”
Symphony No. 7 in C major, “Le midi”
Symphony No. 8 in G major, “Le soir”
Symphony No. 30 in C major, “Alleluja”
Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, “Farewell”
Symphony No. 73 in D major, “La chasse”
Symphony No. 82 in C major, “The Bear”
Symphony No. 85 in B-flat major, “La Reine”
Symphony No. 92 in G major, “Oxford”
Symphony No. 94 in G major, “Surprise”
Symphony No. 100 in G major, “Military”
Symphony No. 101 in D major, “The Clock”
Symphony No. 104 in D major, “London”

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Concertos

Horn Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 in D major
Cello Concerto in C major, Hob. VIIb:1
Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major, Hob. VIIe:1
Violin Concertos (Nos. 1–4)

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Chamber Music

String Quartets (over 60 works)
Piano Trios (approx. 45 works)
Violin and keyboard sonatas
Works for baryton

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Keyboard Music

Piano Sonatas (over 50 works)

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Sacred Music

Missa brevis
Missa in angustiis (“Nelson Mass”)
The Seven Last Words of Christ
The Creation
The Seasons

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Operas

Il mondo della luna
L’isola disabitata

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🔎 Work Analyses of Joseph Haydn on MusiLLection

You can explore detailed analyses of selected works below:

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Robert Schumann - Träumerei, from Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 7 (Analysis)

The Woodman’s Child by Arthur Hughes — an image reflecting the quiet innocence and dreamlike atmosphere of Schumann’s Träumerei ℹ️ Work Information Composer: Robert Schumann Work Title: Träumerei from Kinderszenen , Op. 15, No. 7 Year of Composition: 1838 Collection: Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) Duration: approximately 2–3 minutes Form: Short piano miniature Instrumentation: piano _________________________ Few piano works have managed to capture, with such simplicity and sensitivity, the world of memory as Schumann’s Träumerei . Among the thirteen pieces of Kinderszenen (1838), the seventh stands out not only for its popularity, but for its enduring poetic resonance. For Schumann, music was never merely form; it was an inner language. Kinderszenen does not depict childhood — it reflects upon it. It is the gaze of the adult toward a lost world of innocence. As Schumann himself suggested, these pieces are “recollections of a grown-up for the y...

Frédéric Chopin – Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 (Analysis)

The famous monument to Frédéric Chopin in Paris, reflecting the dramatic and poetic spirit of his music. ℹ️ Work Information Composer: Frédéric Chopin Title: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 Date of composition: 1831–1835 Dedication: Baron Nathaniel von Stockhausen First publication: 1836 Approximate duration: 9–10 minutes Form: Free narrative form with elements of sonata structure Instrumentation: Piano solo _____________________________ In early 19th-century aesthetics, the word “ballade” did not imply a codified musical structure but a narrative impulse rooted in poetry. Adam Mickiewicz’s dramatic ballads shaped an entire generation of Polish Romantic thought, and it was within this cultural atmosphere that Frédéric Chopin conceived his four Ballades. Yet Chopin did something unprecedented: he transformed a literary narrative model into an autonomous instrumental form. Unlike Robert Schumann , who frequently embedded explicit literary or autobiographical refere...

Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto for Two Violins in A minor, Op. 3 No. 8, RV 522 (Analysis)

Regatta on the Grand Canal, Venice — an image that reflects the vibrant atmosphere and festive spirit of the city in Vivaldi’s time. ℹ️ Work Information Composer: Antonio Vivaldi Work Title: Concerto in A minor, Op. 3 No. 8, RV 522 Collection: L’estro armonico Date of Composition: c. 1711 Published: Amsterdam Form: Concerto for two violins and string orchestra Structure: Three movements (fast – slow – fast) Duration: approx. 8–10 minutes ___________________________ At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the concerto was still a developing form, balancing between freedom and emerging structural clarity. In L’estro armonico , Antonio Vivaldi gives this form a new definition—one that combines energy with precision, spontaneity with design. The Concerto in A minor, RV 522, stands among the most compelling examples of this transformation. Written for two solo violins, it does not rely on opposition alone, but on interaction. The soloists do not compete for prominenc...

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